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Who

Mike Shaw is the president of sales and marketing at ABC and the most outspoken of the network ad czars.

Backstory

Syracuse grad Shaw started out in advertising in the '70s as an account executive at John Blair & Co., before taking sales gigs at King World, CNN, and WLS-TV during the '80s and early '90s. He eventually landed at Buena Vista Television, where he sold ads for Disney-syndicated programs like Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Siskel & Ebert, and Home Improvement. In 1999, he moved over to sister ABC as an EVP of national sales, taking responsibility for selling ABC's primetime lineup as well as regional sales offices in Chicago, Detroit, and LA. A year later, he was upped to president of sales and marketing at ABC, replacing Marvin Goldsmith. He now oversees sales across all of ABC's dayparts from primetime to sports as well as the TV network's interactive sales effort.

Of note

One of the most experienced network sales execs around, Shaw has had a solid stretch since taking over; he helped ABC take in over $2.4 billion in the 2007 upfronts, largely based on the strength of programs like Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty. He's also been at the forefront of product placement on primetime TV, landing lucrative deals with Sears and Ford to integrate their products on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. A bit less successful: his one-man crusade to destroy the digital video recorder. In 2006, Shaw took aim at media buyers, insisting that he wouldn't negotiate with them if they refused to include ratings for programs that were viewed on DVRs within seven days of their original airing. He was forced to backtrack, though, when the other networks caved and left him standing alone. But he raised eyebrows again when he revealed that he was trying to persuade cable companies to disable the fast forward buttons on their customers' DVRs—effectively preventing viewers from skipping commercials.

Personal

The motorcycle-riding exec lives in Westport, Conn., with his wife Karin and their two children Connor and Taylor.